Turning Towards Fall

September 17, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

We had a wet Friday so didn't get our normal afternoon at the barn. Today it was cool and overcast when we pulled the boys from the pasture. They even got their first serving of chopped hay for the season, which they both seemed quite happy about. Steen was attentive from the start today. I noticed leading him from the pasture he was putting a lot more effort into staying with me than usual. He's been pretty good about leading for years, but today he was always right at my elbow, whereas sometimes he can be a bit prone to lagging. Once mounted in the second pasture, Steen started giving me a nice soft feel right away, but then he was keen to walk off so we spent quite a few minutes during which I'd ask for the soft feel, he'd give it to me, I'd release him, he'd take a step, I'd ask again, repeat. He even went through a period of being kind of upset about this repetition, but th...

A Big Difference

Robin

September 15, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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We had another very productive ride today. Steen's willingness to give me a "soft feel" was increased from the beginning, and after I mounted and practiced a few times, he walked off quietly. He's been obsessed with hopping into the trot our last few rides, so that was a nice change. We walked around for a while and he stayed at the walk. We stopped and worked on our soft feel some more and then walked some more. Then I asked for the trot and he picked it up willingly, but then started trying to drift towards where Brian was riding Bear. One of the things Buck said over and over in the clinic was, "Do so little you don't think you'll get a response, then do what it takes." Basically this means making a dramatic difference between asking nicely and telling firmly so your horse can learn to yield to the softest possible cue but won't learn a gentle touch can be ignored. So as Steen s...

This Changes Everything

Robin

September 14, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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We've had a very busy stretch here, starting with a visit from my mother. We went out to the barn once while she was here, and she did climb on Steen briefly but he showed an immediate inclination to play his "pick up the trot" game with her, and she didn't really want to play. So she hopped off and went for a jog while Brian and I had a pretty nice ride in the second pasture. Ride Time: 0:30 After Mom left, Brian and I went on vacation. We drove to Decorah, IA, to audit a Buck Brannaman clinic. It started as more of a desire to take a vacation and perhaps work something horse-related in. We figured we'd spend about half of each day at the clinic and the other half poking around the area and relaxing. But that's not how it worked out. We were hooked in about the first five minutes. I'd never been to a clinic before, but I've seen a lot of foo...

An Attempt at a Quiet Ride

Robin

August 30, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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Today we were going to have a quiet ride. Steen and Bear are both a little worn out because we've been riding sooo much. They were down in the bottom of the pasture when we arrived at the barn. Lately we've been making them hop over the drainage ditch when they're down there. It's not much of a physical challenge for them (they could walk through it without difficulty if they wanted), but it is a mental one. Steen hesitated the first time I asked him to do it, but since then he's thrown himself into the challenge with surprising confidence and enthusiasm. Today he jumped the ditch with a lot more energy and alacrity than necessary.

He had astonishingly good form and was quite proud of him...

Two Lovely Long Rides

Robin

August 28, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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We had a good barn weekend. On Saturday Brian and I went again to the second strip, and spent a lot of time trotting back and forth along the length. Steen was very good. He still wasn't a fan of standing when I offered him the chance to rest, but he would stop, usually flex without protest and only start to fidget if I didn't ask him to walk again fairly quickly. In the interest of keeping his stress-level low, I didn't force the issue and he grew more and more settled over the course of the ride, his trots nice and slow, his downward transitions prompt and his responsiveness to my seat and legs staying high the whole ride. By the very end he was willing to stand quietly, so I count that a victory. Ride Time: 1:00 Sunday we rode again with Gay and Doc. We tried to stay in more open terrain this time since neither Bear nor Steen seemed to enjoy being in some of the narrower...

19 Tail Hairs

Robin

August 26, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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Today we headed to the second strip again, and my plan was to keep things quieter and less demanding. We rode through the hallway of terrors with Bear leading the way. Something about the large stack of hay bales got him a bit concerned and he scooted into a little half bolt, but Brian got him back in hand quickly. Steen barely reacted, which I found surprising. We mapped the second strip using a satellite image and discovered it is 1/3 of a mile from end to end. We walked out to the end and back once, then trotted three lengths continuously to get in a solid mile. Both Steen and Bear were quite good through all of this and Steen wasn't nearly as inclined to trot fast. We settled into a pretty easy pace and went back and forth and back. Finally we stopped to let them rest. As usual, Steen stopped just fine but I knew by his ears and body-language that staying stopped wasn't goin...

A Hard Ride

Robin

August 25, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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In the interest of furthering our new goal to broaden our horizons, on Wednesday afternoon Brian and I headed for the second strip. We have high hopes of getting some excellent riding in over there in the next weeks. It is huge, much wider than the strip we normally ride on and has the benefit of not being where our horses normally live, so we don't have to juggle various herds and gates, and also it gets them out of their comfort zone.

While that last bit is good in theory, it can be trying in reality. It probably didn't help that I was nervous as we headed out. I was nervous because I knew Brian was nervous because it was just Steen and Bear, no Doc to help Steen feel safe. Steen's tendency to spook increases dramatically when the number of horses present falls from three to two. And while I am used to riding through Steen's jerks and quivers and don't particularly mind t...

A Good Fit

Robin

August 23, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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My new bit and headstall both arrived last week, but since Brian and I had our Sunday trail ride planned I decided not to try them out until afterwards. I intended to test the new combo yesterday, but work did not permit. This morning I woke up and it was dark and raining, but things cleared during breakfast. By the time I got to the barn one storm had blown over and another was rolling in. Steen was way way out at the top of the huge hill in the pasture, but he was clean and dry. I made him jump the drainage ditch on the way in. We tried this before our last ride after Brian made Bear do it the other day. Steen was pretty willing to go over the first time with minimal coaxing, but today he didn't even hesitate. He took it in a big leap and then pranced along next to me all proud of himself for a moment. Inside I g...

Three Bays on the Trail

Robin

August 22, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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Although last summer I rode Steen out around the acres of farmland around our barn all the time, this year between my extended period of not having a saddle and Brian still getting used to Bear, we've stuck closer to home. But finally I realized enough is enough, and it was time to get start broadening our horizons. We set up a ride with Gay and on Sunday we tacked up, mounted and left the barn behind. The ride wasn't super exciting. Mostly we just walked around the fields. For the most part the horses were well behaved. Steen is always a happy camper when he's with two other horses and we chose Doc to have along because he is particularly quiet and unflappable. Steen behaved about as I expected. He had a few jumps when he froze in place and a few moments wanting to pick up the trot on the way home, but all in all he was quite well behaved. The real surprise was the second strip...

Long Lopes

Robin

August 20, 2011

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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The weather has been beautiful and this is making it so much more possible to have some truly enjoyable rides. Today we rode in the second pasture and my goal was the same as last time - to work Steen through all three gaits, giving him a chance to really settle at each. Steen started out a bit restless and goey and his trotting tantrum frequency was up considerably in comparison to our last few rides. I think he's just feeling good. He's fit and the day was cool and he had a lot of energy. We walked around the perimeter of the pasture at first and then settled into a nice jog, but once I stopped him and made him stand for a few minutes he was ready to shoot out from beneath me, anticipating the lope I was going to ask for. So I made him walk around until he was walking on a loose rein without a fuss. Then I asked him for the lope and he flung himself into it, going much faster tha...